In reply to a post by jabuzzard:

I would strongly recommend not running Cat5e.

Can you come back three years ago and offer that advice please! Unfortunately I asked the builder to run "Cat 5/6" and they ran Cat 5e. The cables they ran are embedded in the fabric of the house, any upgrading would require a lot of work. So I don't want to make the same mistake as I extend the network to relocate my NAS.

In reply to a post by jabuzzard:

In reply to a post by Woolwich:

Maybe one day I'll have a 10G NAS, so I'd want to run a fibre capable. OTOH, the rest of existing network is only 1G so I'd need a 10G switch as well. Maybe that's starting to become mad?

Given that 10Gbps Ethernet runs just fine over Cat 6a then why do you need fibre to run a 10Gbps NAS?

I deal with fibre all the time at work, but the chances of me using it at home anytime soon are basically zero. Especially as my home network is Cat 6a.

You could save yourself some money by using Cat 5e euro modules now and swapping them out for Cat 6a as and when needed. I went full in and did everything with Cat 6a modules but I did get the cable and patch panels for free (came from work completely legitimately as stuff that was otherwise going to be thrown out).

Cost per port on 10Gb/s on fibre is less than half the cost on copper. Even for a handful of ports. Then the cabling itself is superior and actually cheaper too - especially if you are doing the copper properly and you need to included jacks/faceplates and termination time/cost.

For switch to switch interconnects @ 10 Gbps - even in the home - fibre makes a lot of sense. Actually a heck of a lot more than copper.

Saying that however, running copper to the edge / end user devices though I agree is still the way to go and will be for a while yet.

Something I've found is that 10GBase-T modules run really, really hot. As in you can't touch then for any length of time hot.

Took out the 10GBase-T module that was going to a wireless AP and replaced it with a 2 x 1G LAG. Meant the chassis was cooler and I could remove the external fan that I had there for the sole purpose of cooling that module.

Are these the MikroTik branded 10GBase-T modules (S+RJ10)? I have a couple of these on order, as I need a module that can scale down to 10BaseT (yes Meg!) half duplex on the host switch and the MikroTik's do that as well as run all the way up to full 10G - they are the only 6-speed copper modules I seem to be able to find.

I wonder if the (cable link) length influences the temperature of the 10GBase-T SFP+ module - fs.com sell two varieties of SFP+ based 10GBase-T modules - an up to 30 metre version same as the MikroTik and a slightly more expensive version that will run 10G up to 80 metres.

In my setups, 10GBase-T copper here runs off native (also PoE+) enabled ports on a Netgear 4300 series switch - this is modular and fan cooled beast, so haven't really paid much attention to the module temps.

At the moment for copper based 10G, I've only our laptop Thunderbolt based docks which happily run 10GBase-T - although these are fan assisted!

The baby MikroTik's switches have either 1G SFP or 10G fibre SFP+ modules mostly

In reply to a post by CarlTSpeak:

Something I've found is that 10GBase-T modules run really, really hot. As in you can't touch then for any length of time hot.

This is my experience too.

I have tried the Mikrotik S+RJ10, it performed as expected but even on 25m of Cat6 it generates enough heat to run up the fans in a CRS328-24P-4S+ to a high level. As a result I have retired it in favour of fibre.

If you need 10G around the home, heat, noise and cost are usually reduced if fibre is an option. You spend a few pounds more on the fibre, but the SFP+ is cheaper.

So one of my main reasons for wanting to move my RAID is that its in an unventilated cupboard. The router will have to stay there so it will be warm but cooler!

I'm swithering between Cat6 and fibre. I don't really want more components which need power, so best with Cat6. And now you're saying the fibre hardware creates a lot of heat!

Sounds like Cat6 for me then. Replacing one warm RAID with hot network convertors sounds like madness!

In reply to a post by Woolwich:

And now you're saying the fibre hardware creates a lot of heat!

No to be specific he's referring to the copper 10G pluggables which go into SFP+ cages. The 10G fibre pluggables that go into the same cages don't really generate any heat at all.

In reply to a post by Pheasant:

In reply to a post by Woolwich:

And now you're saying the fibre hardware creates a lot of heat!

No to be specific he's referring to the copper 10G pluggables which go into SFP+ cages. The 10G fibre pluggables that go into the same cages don't really generate any heat at all.

Correct. The 10GBaseT module I had heat report from was 70C+ before I added extra cooling. The hottest 10G BiDi module I have is 37C in a chassis reporting 35C as system temperature, that system being fully loaded with SFPs and no external cooling.

The 10GBaseT modules use a ton of power and, hence, generate a ton of heat.

In reply to a post by jabuzzard:

In reply to a post by Pipexer:

Honestly I wouldn't bother - 1Gbps is plenty for many years in the future. It is more robust than fibre and considerably cheaper. I have just run Cat5e in my own house, including damaging walls etc. Fibre never even crossed my mind.

If you have a huge house and you're going to exceed 100m, then fair enough - even then I'd be considering just having 2x100m and a switch in the middle.

I would strongly recommend not running Cat5e. If you have any sort of home NAS then it is not enough in the near future. The marginal additional cost of going to Cat6a cable and future proofing yourself to 10GbE is well worth it, even if you save yourself some money and fit Cat5e face plates which are a lot cheaper than Cat6a ones. It's much easier to swap out the face plates than replace the cable, which will require lifting flooring etc. as opposed to screwing off a faceplate puching down a new module and screwing it back on the wall.

1Gbps is plenty. That is enough to transfer 1TB in under 3 hours. Plenty for streaming and backups. What home use case needs something faster than this?

In reply to a post by Pheasant:

Are these the MikroTik branded 10GBase-T modules (S+RJ10)? I have a couple of these on order, as I need a module that can scale down to 10BaseT (yes Meg!) half duplex on the host switch and the MikroTik's do that as well as run all the way up to full 10G - they are the only 6-speed copper modules I seem to be able to find.

Yes. Don't put them side by side in the chassis. Ideally have a blank slot either side of both of them